The Good Ship – Avast! Wretched Sea
Review
by Lisa Dib
Brisbane band The Good Ship's debut album reminds me happily of
Canadian band Great Big Sea; a darker, grittier Great Big Sea, mind,
but the lilting nautical mood and Irish pub-style sing-along niche
remains. Avast! opens with A Harbour Fair, introducing us
to this album chock-a-block, to employ my Nana’s language, of
jig-worthy sea shanties of debauchery, ale and mischief. A
Harbour Fair also, as well as speedy guitar, accordion and fiddle,
utilizes the much-loved yet bizarre lagerphone amidst the “hey, hey,
heys” and the great phrase “…with a buxom harlot on each knee”
Standout
track These Are A Few of My Favourite Flings is less nautical-themed-
despite the accordion- but entails all that we realize The Good Ship
are peddling; it’s less Pogues, but no less wicked. Flings is a darkly
catchy chronicle of- presumably- singer Darryl Grey’s various wanton
conquests and torrid punisheresses. One feels very
un-Christian when imagining this montage of impiety, but it’s great fun
nonetheless; “Rebel was punk/ With a snake tattoo upon her cunt/ Said
she wanted to connect the dots, with all her piercings/ These are a few
of my favourite flings”
Sea Monster employs the growl of John
Meyer, as opposed to Grey, who usually takes the vocal reigns, and
Meyer does well to perform a dark tale of a sailor’s worst nightmare.
It sounds like something The Damned might have performed, if The Damned
ever used castanets (did they? Not that I know of). 6000
Cocks – charming- follows, and it’s essentially what it sounds like;
it’s a bare track, with just the aforementioned Grey and Meyer on
vocals. It’d be an earnest ballad if it wasn’t about sucking dick and
drugs, but who can ever keep up with kids these days? Pokemon one day,
fellatio the next.
18 When You’re 44 is about that special
breed of woman that- how to put it nicely?- lacks in decorum.
It’s much folksier and has a sort of Crowded House sound to it, though
I can’t imagine Neil Finn ever remarking that someone had their “tits
hanging out”. No judgement; hey, sometimes it happens. Tavern Song;
here’s the Pogues-style call and response vocals, with marching band
drums and full-bodied pub accordion. It is, of course, about the
dangers of hanging out too long at the local brew-house, for fear of
spousal retribution; “If you find me down at the tavern at twelve/
Don’t worry, my dear, fear not for our wealth/ I’m shouting Carmicheal
a gin for his health/ If I’m down at the tavern at twelve”
The
album takes a decidedly slower, more trad-folk ballad turn here, with
No Shortage of Company and Bury Me, the latter being a rich country
tale of death, of course. I Can Make Her Laugh is a return to form, and
a prime example of what The Good Ship are becoming notorious for all
across the land. Folksy alt.country with a lovely appearance by
mandolin; “I can make her laugh, but I can’t make her cum” sings Grey,
a problem with I think is more prevalent in young males than the boys
of Australia are willing to admit. Ooh-err.
Cut Off My holds
some more morbid lyricism (“You were convinced that I was still telling
a million lies/ And so you held me down and cut out my eyes”) with some
dark and foreboding acoustic guitar as a backdrop. Last
Song of the Night won’t disappoint you if you had so far enjoyed the
rambunctious rowdiness of The Good Ship’s unique canon; Night is a
slow-paced accordion wailer to finish off the record; the kind of torch
song that causes the pub patrons to throw their arms around each other
and spill their pints as their sway in something almost like unison and
sing, in a manner of speaking, very loudly…followed, usually, by
declarations of love that might usually have remained dormant were it
not for the mental and emotional lubrication of ale. Good times. And, you know, that’s what The Good Ship are all about.
So
I thoroughly recommend giving Avast! Wretched Sea a whirl if you are
prone to flights of nautical and cheeky fancy, as well as some very
fine and multi-faceted musicianship. Avast, to dinner!
Check out more music from The Good Ship.... RATING: 4 out of 5
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